While on paper, Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania has the makings for an exciting battle of the powerhouses, the build-up is already showing some cause for concern.
Lesnar made his return to TV on the February 23 edition of Raw alongside Paul Heyman, which saw the Hall of Famer speak on behalf of his client. Heyman announced that Lesnar would be competing at the biggest show of the year, and issued an open challenge to the locker room to face the 10-time World Champion if they were bold enough to accept.
Instantly, 2 names came to mind for many WWE fans to face Brock Lesnar: Oba Femi and Gunther. Fast forward to March 16 and the challenge was answered by Femi. Interrupting a face-off between Lesnar and Seth Rollins, Femi dropped Lesnar with one of the most impressive powerbombs seen in years before placing his foot on Lesnar’s chest and standing tall. Accepting the challenge, it was later made official that The Beast and The Ruler would clash in a first-time ever encounter. One week later and Femi once again overpowered Lesnar, forcing the veteran out of the ring. Although Femi is now 2 and 0 in confrontations with Lesnar, this is where the alarm bells are starting to ring.
WWE has a habit of telling the opposite story of what is going to happen by the time the big match rolls around. The classic example is that whoever holds the Money in the Bank briefcase will lose repeatedly until they cash in and become the new champion. If Femi continues to dominate Lesnar, there is the possibility that the company will book Femi to lose his first Mania match. Even though Lesnar is an established star and many current and future Hall of Famers have suffered losses to The Beast at major shows, this one is different.
Why Oba Femi Might Lose To Brock Lesnar?
Although Femi defeating Lesnar looks to be the most logical option, Lesnar’s long-term future is what casts doubt on the end result. With Lesnar’s home state of Minnesota set to host SummerSlam later in the year, and with Lesnar now more than 2 decades removed from his main roster debut, the rumour mill is claiming that SummerSlam 2026 will be the site of Lesnar’s final match. Given the aforementioned statements and that Lesnar has picked up huge wins against the likes of The Rock, Triple H and that John Cena squash at the summer PLE, few are outright dismissing this as an option.
If Lesnar will indeed be retiring at SummerSlam, it’s very likely that his final opponent will be Gunther, the man who faced Goldberg, John Cena and AJ Styles in all of their respective matches. As the company will want to keep Lesnar strong heading into this match, will there be any more Lesnar losses before SummerSlam? If not, the short-term plan works for Lesnar, but could be extremely damaging for Femi.
Take WrestleMania 41 as an example. Then World Champion Gunther, who remained an unstoppable force up until that point, lost the title to Jey Uso via submission. Struggling to rebuild and hit with “You tapped out” chants ever since, the match was a lesson in how not to book dominant performers. A Lesnar loss can be quickly rectified with a series of dominant wins on PLEs leading up to SummerSlam, but Femi would struggle to bounce back, much like other NXT call-ups…
Don’t Make The Same Mistake With Oba Femi
Fans already see Femi as a future World Champion, but whether or not WWE pull the trigger is another matter entirely. It’s no secret that the main event scene in WWE is experiencing an age problem right now. While Roman Reigns has joked in promos that CM Punk is old and past his prime, all 4 wrestlers competing in the top matches at Mania are in their 40s.
Following WrestleMania 41, it appeared that big things were set for Bron Breakker. Joining Seth Rollins alongside The Vision and repeatedly laying waste to members of the Raw roster, it seemed to be only a matter of time before the second-generation star won the top title on the red brand. However, following Rollins’ injury and prior to Breakker being sidelined, the promotion failed to capitalise on Breakker by having him lose to Punk on the first Raw of 2026.
At just 27 years old, WWE have the opportunity to book Femi in a similar way to Lesnar’s rookie year back in 2002. With power, charisma and the fans firmly behind him, this is a chance to inject some youth into a division that is in need of fresh faces. Lesnar remained undefeated in big matches from his debut after WrestleMania 18 right the way through to Survivor Series, and won the WWE Championship in between. While there are dozens or stars of the future in the company, some of these desperately need to be the stars of today.
Although Femi squashing Lesnar would be the most shocking and arguably most interesting outcome, this will almost certainly be a back-and-forth affair. However, with a definitive star on their roster and fans crying out for something new, it’s time to start strong what could be a 2-decade career for The Ruler.
Featured image: WWE
